In July 2000, I suffered a heart attack and was off work until November. By February I was suffering from stress and my doctor signed me off again.

I claimed on my employer's health insurance with Unum, which pays two-thirds of my salary after six months absence, but Unum rejected my claim.

Meanwhile, my employer was sold. I appealed to Unum but the procedure accepts appeals only from the employer, not directly from the employee or from my doctor, who feels that the information he provided should have enabled Unum to support my claim. I am having to live on my savings. CH, Worcester

Because Unum will talk only to its client, your employer, you are stranded. No one even told you that your stress is indeed covered.

Fortunately, Unum spoke to me. It says it could not automatically pay your claim because your second problem was different from the first. It wanted new medical evidence and told your doctor that it needed a psychiatric report. Your doctor does not appear to have understood that your claim depended on getting this report and instead merely discussed whether you wanted to see a psychiatrist. You decided not to in case this counted against you when applying for another job.

Unum reopened your file last August and eventually agreed to pay for a new medical opinion. Following that, it accepted your claim and has paid two-thirds of your salary from September to the end of December. Your treatment starts in February and I explained to Unum that not knowing whether you will receive any money in 2002 adds to your stress, making recovery less likely.

Unum has now said it will definitely continue paying until the results of your treatment are known.

Brass rubbing? That'll do nicely

On a recent Airtours holiday, I paid for an organised coach tour with a credit card. The representative told me sadly that she had recently taken a credit card for £64 and the payment was not honoured. Unless she could recover the money, she would have it deducted by Airtours from her pay.

They had no electronic equipment to check cards and she had to make out the invoice by rubbing a pencil over the data on my card. Surely it is illegal to demand these girls make good any failures to collect the money? LB, Cwmrhydyceirw

Airtours confirms that it does not make reps responsible for holidaymakers' bad debts. Nor does it take credit card bookings like brass rubbings. Barclaycard says even remote outlets have old swipe machines.

I was initially suspicious: the rep's story sounded like a scam. But your credit card payment went through accurately, so perhaps she was just feeling sorry for herself.

Seeking a stakeholder

I am interested in a stakeholder pension but cannot find out how or where to buy one. JB, Sudbury

For all the publicity about stakeholder pensions, there is no easy answer. Most are sold through employers, who must offer a stakeholder if they employ more than five people and have no company scheme.

You can contact stakeholder providers direct or through the internet, if you know which you want. The Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority lists them on its website. The Financial Services Authority publishes comparative tables on its website or phone 0845 606 1234.

You can buy stakeholder pensions through IFAs, although the policies pay little income so advisers might prefer to charge a fee. Your bank or building society might sell one.

Engineer's micro pension

I am just 65 and recently heard from Norwich Union that, from the eight years I worked for NE Industries as a design engineer, I will get a pension of £13.10 a year or £152 as a cash lump sum. IC, Portsmouth

Norwich Union took over the administration of this pension when the trustees wound up the scheme so says it is just obeying instructions to pay the amounts dictated. The only consolation is that, with another lump of pension that Norwich Union has found, you will in fact get £48 a year, or a lump sum of £468.

· Email Margaret Dibben at money.writes@observer.co.uk or write to Money Writes, The Observer, 119 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3ER and include a telephone number. Do not enclose SAEs or original documents. Letters are selected for publication and we cannot give personal replies. The newspaper accepts no legal responsibility for advice.